All Good Things...

It seems I've been remiss in updating the campaign notes that I've been posting on this blog; this update include the last three months, up to and including the finale.

-Nate

Return to Freeport Campaign Notes

Traitor's End Review

This scenario, Part 6 of the Return to Freeport campaign, was released back in October. It is the finale for the series, following the PCs as they return to Freeport after their big fleet battle to seek the traitor who was colluding with the Mazin invaders. 

On a positive note, it features a solidly written investigation that can succeed via multiple paths and that takes the PCs to numerous interesting locations throughout the city. The author did a good job of creating new locations, ones that are different from the usual tropes of the docs, taverns and the like. The scenario also includes a chase scene, using rules from the GameMastery Guide, and the combats feature a variety of interesting opponents. There's a good puzzle, too, which something that I think not enough scenarios feature. Finally, part of the adventure includes a celebration of Drac's Fall, which can be an homage to previous PCs who participated in the original Freeport trilogy. 

Being critical, I think the scenario feels a little disconnected from the previous ones, since the big engagement with the Mazin has already been foiled. There's a solid threat presented by the primary antagonist, and the end location makes for a dramatic confrontation and battle. Even so, the fact that it takes place on a shadowy demi-plane that seems like Freeport is a little weird, given that there's already an alternate version of the city—Freetown—existing in the Abyss, as detailed in the adventure Hell in Freeport. I also worry that some of the scenes don't take into account flying characters, which seem to be pretty common at high levels. 

All in all, I think it will be fun.

-Nate

A Storm of Sails Review

This scenario, Part 5 of the Return to Freeport campaign, was released back in February, but I've taken my time getting to it because I'm still waiting to see the sixth and final adventure in the series be published. I read it, though, and enjoyed it; here's the breakdown. 

On a positive note, this scenario includes a lot of ship-to-ship combat—something that has not been all that common in a campaign setting based around pirates. Indeed, there are two different engagements between the fleet that the PCs assembled in The Freebooter's City and the attacking Mazin armada. The rules involved are a simpler version than those presented in Ultimate Combat, and even the ones in the Player's Guide for the Skull & Shackles adventure path, and it seems like they'll work well for fast fleet action. My only concern is that they might seem a little too simplified, perhaps causing players who like crunchier mechanics to be frustrated. Should that be the case, though, then the GM can always fall back on more complicated rules. 

My only real frustration is that this adventure, like previous ones in the series, uses stat blocks from books such as the NPC Codex, requiring access to that text rather than repeating the stats in the module itself. It's a small complaint, I know. Now it just remains for the last adventure to be published, taking the action back to Freeport so the PCs can confront the traitor who's been working to undermine their heroic efforts; let's hope that it's been worth the wait.

-Nate 

The Freebooter's City Review

I downloaded this adventure, Part 4 of the Return to Freeport campaign, more than seven months ago, and it's been sitting on my hard drive since then because I've been busy with other things—and I'm still waiting to see Part 6 published before I start preparing to run this campaign. Just now I finished reading it, however, and thought I should review it. First and foremost, this scenario involves plenty of roleplaying situations, with very little combat actually required. That is, in my mind, both good and bad, for the following reasons. 

On the downside, I think a GM wanting to use it with a typical group of players would need to add more fighting to it. I've run the occasional session that didn't have any combat, maybe once each campaign, but having that happen over and over again would eventually be disappointing for may players. The scenario suggests using random encounters from the table in Part 1, but I fear that they'd not be challenging enough for eighth-level characters. Even so, there are lots of potential enemies in the Freeport: The City of Adventure and Freeport Bestiary books, so it shouldn't take too much for a GM to create more combat-oriented subplots for the PCs. 

The upside of the emphasis on roleplaying is that it really weaves the PCs into the fabric of the city. That is, after all, for me the most appealing element of the campaign setting; it starts to feel familiar, and like the PCs are an important part of the city's history and future. With that in mind, I'm pleased with the direction this campaign is taking, and I look forward to the next two installments.

-Nate

Pathfinder Freeport Bestiary (P)Review

Last week I had the pleasant surprise of seeing the Freeport Bestiary released in PDF format, as a $5 add-on for ordering the print version. Here, then, is a (p)review of that book.

First, the book provides a solid mix of old monsters and new. I always liked the format for the Creatures of Freeport book from back in 3rd Edition, and some of my favorites are back, updated for Pathfinder. Some highlights include the deadwood tree, fire spectre, ghost eater and multiple stat blocks for serpent people.

There are some great new creatures, too, like the bloathsome, sail dragon and werewalrus. All in all, there's a great variety of monsters that can be used to populate the ocean and islands around Freeport (or similar settings).

The mix of CRs is useful, too. Of the eighty or so monsters listed, more than half of them are CR 6 or lower. This isn't to say that there aren't any high-level foes, but I prefer to have more options for the levels at which I'm more likely to play.

This book also retains the "Lore" table for each creature, with DCs for Knowledge checks and the details that PCs can recall about them. That helps the GM generate plot ideas and integrate these monsters into adventures and campaigns.

If I must be picky, I don't love the fact that the creatures are limited to their own specific pages, as is the case in the Pathfinder Bestiaries. This can make finding information a little more challenging, but I can understand why the layout decision was made.

All in all, this book is a solid addition to any Pathfinder GM's library, but especially useful for those who are running nautical fantasy campaigns.

-Nate

Storming the Razor Caves Review

When I first received the email with the download for this scenario, two thoughts crossed my mind. First, I was frustrated because this was released five and a half months after its predecessor. Second, I noticed that it's twenty-six pages in length, shorter than the scenarios that came before it.

Even so, I think this is an adventure that will make for some fun sessions. It starts out in Freeport, but then leads to a place called Hangnail--a wretched hive of scum and villainy on an island not too far from the Serpent's Teeth. It's pretty heavy on combat, but includes good opportunities for roleplaying and--more importantly, in my opinion--some challenging action aboard a ship at sea. Although overall it might be a little light as far as the total number of encounters are concerned, the ones it does have are solid and seem to be leading into an important conflict that will be on par with Sea Lord Drac's plot, the Barbarian Invasion, and other such battles that have been woven into the history of the Freeport setting.

-Nate

Gen Con 2016 Recap

Since it's almost two weeks after the Con, I figure I should offer a recap. Also, since I'm not a picture-taking type, I'm borrowing some photos taken by Donna Prior from Green Ronin Publishing, for whom I was running games.

Here's the banner that marked the room. There were all manner of Green Ronin-supported games, including my Pathfinder Freeport sessions and the ones on the banner. 

Here I am in action with my players. 

Here's one more from another round. 

The scenario I ran was called "Tales from Freeport: Out of the Darkness." It went well. The story centers on an investigation of recent murders in the Merchants' and Temple Districts and Drac's End. Some of the highlights included:

• Every time Horace managed a critical hit with his pistol--there's something special about quadruple damage. My favorite was the final shot to take down the shadow demon enemy. 
• An aerial battle over the Temple of the God of Knowledge with gargoyles pitted against an enchanted half-orc barbarian. 
• The damsel in distress, dropped by her gargoyle kidnappers, only to fall into the arms of Horace the pirate--who threw a 20 on his CMB to make the catch. 
• Lots of jumping from second-story windows and other such swashbuckling action. 
• When the shadow demon's fear spell sent the rogue, fighter and barbarian running, leaving the cleric and sorceress to hold the line. 

This marked a return to Gen Con for me after missing the past three years--and that came after attending for sixteen years in a row. I'll give shoutouts to DJ Douglass for doing the legwork to make it happen, to Corey Russel for being a good roommate, and to Donna Prior for coordinating things for Green Ronin. 

Outside of running my sessions and prowling the dealers' hall, I didn't do a whole lot. There was a night of Star Wars trivia at Champps that went well, but the thing I enjoyed the most was going to the Con and being surrounded by people who enjoy geeky things and who were engaged in those geeky things. I've been working on some space fantasy adventures for Pathfinder, and was feeling some inspiration while at the Con, so I spent a decent amount of time sitting around, writing, and watching people. 

It was great. 

-Nate