Ultimate Campaign – Character Backgrounds

An explanatory note: Ultimate Campaign is a relatively recent release from Paizo Publishing for their Pathfinder Game, a 256-page hardcover book. It's not the first supplement to the system they've done, but I personally think it's the most significant, as it really extends the system into areas that most Fantasy RPGs often don't cover, or don't cover well. This makes it particularly interesting, as it … Continue reading Ultimate Campaign – Character Backgrounds

Review of Fangwood Keep (Pathfinder adventure)

Fangwood Keep is a stand-alone Pathfinder adventure for 4th level characters by Alex Greenshields. It uses the tried-and-true approach of presenting what initially appears to be a standard adventure which transforms into something else in its second half. The adventure begins with the characters charged to recover a contested keep on the border between Molthune and Nirmathas, which has been seized by a rebel soldier, … Continue reading Review of Fangwood Keep (Pathfinder adventure)

Review of Quests & Campaigns (Pathfinder supplement)

Quests & Campaigns is a 32-page book in Pathfinder’s Player Companion series, which expands on a number of concepts first explored in the Ultimate Campaign book that look at options for detailing the background and goals of player characters. In theory, a book containing a lot of background and goal-related options for a character is a good idea. However, the book fumbles the ideas badly. … Continue reading Review of Quests & Campaigns (Pathfinder supplement)

Running Way of the Wicked – Pathfinder

I noticed recently that my Pathfinder group has now been running for more than a year. That's a bit terrifying, especially as Pathfinder is more of a system that I endure rather than actually like. I run it mainly for the players, and so that I can see how good the adventures are. We've finished both the Council of Thieves and Kingmaker adventure paths, and … Continue reading Running Way of the Wicked – Pathfinder

“Dungeoneer’s Handbook” by Paizo Publishing – Review

Books such as the Dungeoneer's Handbook by Paizo need to be really good to impress me. At US$10.99 for a 32 page book, you're paying a premium price for not very much information, and so the book has to be superb to be worth the cover price. The book looks beautiful, with full colour throughout and glossy pages. It's a Paizo book, and they have great … Continue reading “Dungeoneer’s Handbook” by Paizo Publishing – Review

Kingmaker session 10 (Varnhold Vanishing)

This was the tenth session of our Kingmaker campaign, and we are now half-way through the series. Well, almost: the group need to do a bunch of kingdom-building before they’re ready for the fourth adventure, but they have dealt with the major threat of the Varnhold Vanishing. Most of the session was spent exploring Vordakai’s Tomb, with one month’s worth of kingdom-building activities.The group also … Continue reading Kingmaker session 10 (Varnhold Vanishing)

Review of The Sixfold Trial

Richard Pett first came to my attention as I was DMing the Age of Worms adventure path. His adventure, The Prince of Redhand, a role-playing heavy adventure towards the end of the path, was one of the true highlights of that series. Upon initially reading The Sixfold Trial, the second adventure in the Council of Thieves adventure path, it did not initially dawn on me … Continue reading Review of The Sixfold Trial

Review of The Bastards of Erebus

The Bastards of Erebus is the first adventure in the Council of Thieves adventure path, the first Adventure Path by Paizo written explicitly for the Pathfinder RPG; their previous four AP products having been for the 3.5e rules. It is written by Sean K. Reynolds, a long-time veteran of the RPG industry. It’s also a great disappointment. The Council of Thieves adventure path has problems … Continue reading Review of The Bastards of Erebus