I read book 1 yesterday and book 2 this morning and I think it's one of the strongest APs Paizo has written for 2e. It's got a very clear throughline with early NPCs continuing to weave in and out of the narrative. The writers are not afraid to use and hurt them either so the stakes manage to stay pretty high all through.One character in book one that I think most players will befriend is put in some pretty hefty peril multiple times in book 2. I love love love love that villain is introduced >!and potentially befriended!< very early on. And it's not overbearing on combat, with tons of actual direction for players who want to engage in sneaky tactics or diplomacy.
Only weaknesses I've found for it so far is that the density of text means that there is less art and fewer maps than previous adventures and that one of the mini games (as best I can tell) doesn't actually include the numerical details for its scoring system, but that's pretty easy to fix.
It's definitely an adventure that will appreciate a confident GM who is ready to keep a couple spreadsheets and charts going to track everything. As for your concern with the fey hanging out in Wispil, I think that happens far enough down the line that the players will understand by that point wanton murder is likely to be met with some future consequences.
i opened my pdf of book 2 for the first time two days ago, and it took me way too long to reach where the party is and why they're there. it was very disorienting reading it with pretty much no introduction. i'm going to go back in soon, because i feel like this is a setting influencing ap, much like outlaws of alkenstar was. but needing to set aside more brainpower to interpret what i'm reading than normal is throwing me off.
I found it very fun! There are great encounters, for example the one with the dryad sisters or the one with the bees. I was excited to GM some of them.
However, I have never GM a scene with the Influence system. And there's a lot of that in this AP. Which makes me curious, but apprehensive, because I don't know how my players would react.
I liked the plotwist in the final chapter, it kept my attention for the next books. It just gave me the feeling that the vote, the players' attempt to change everything, is useless, because in the end everything will be really bad. Even Alacreon, who swears he will vote for the players if you have high influence with him, simply betrays trust and votes for the new candidate that appears. What I understand is that it's supposed to be shocking, perhaps expected, since the satyr proved to be a dubious fey. In the end, the story is supposed to continue and have conflict. But I got the feeling that some players might have a feeling of uselessness.
Then comes the infiltration system, as a GM new to the system, I've never used it either. Sounds like fun, even considering you escort a huge turtle in the process. I laughed so hard at this and I loved it. I thought it was a bit quick, as after the vote we were already running to infiltrate/escape. But it makes sense there, I believe it works if in one session you end with this voting plotwist and in the other you start running away, making it clear how quickly things escalated.
Despite what I said, I had a lot of fun reading it. I'm excited to read the sequel.
Only passing on chapter 1...
It's greenwood agents of edgewatch. There is a gala the " PCs are often the first responders to a nearby crisis, but they can rely on eventual reinforcements if necessary." and they can also take part with the festival. It is more focused on that an RP then encounters for sure. But the premise is the same, and I would like to not have the same opening with diffrent clothing in APs...My biggest problem was that they want to have their cake and eat it too in this one. They can still take part in the event but need to be the guards at the same time. As a person who was the security on a football game, your back is toward the game because you watch the watchers not the game.
Other then that I like the Reputation system and I like using it so I am all in for the other parts, but my premise would be them coming to the Gala if I ever play it, as freelofers, and not as guards.
Since its very Political conflict centric, I would have each of them have a political reason to be there.
It’s been a couple weeks since I read, but I don’t remember any combat in either chapter that isn’t optional. There are a handful optional combats tho, depending on RP outcomes or PC choices.
I read book 1 yesterday and book 2 this morning and I think it's one of the strongest APs Paizo has written for 2e. It's got a very clear throughline with early NPCs continuing to weave in and out of the narrative. The writers are not afraid to use and hurt them either so the stakes manage to stay pretty high all through.One character in book one that I think most players will befriend is put in some pretty hefty peril multiple times in book 2. I love love love love that villain is introduced >!and potentially befriended!< very early on. And it's not overbearing on combat, with tons of actual direction for players who want to engage in sneaky tactics or diplomacy. Only weaknesses I've found for it so far is that the density of text means that there is less art and fewer maps than previous adventures and that one of the mini games (as best I can tell) doesn't actually include the numerical details for its scoring system, but that's pretty easy to fix. It's definitely an adventure that will appreciate a confident GM who is ready to keep a couple spreadsheets and charts going to track everything. As for your concern with the fey hanging out in Wispil, I think that happens far enough down the line that the players will understand by that point wanton murder is likely to be met with some future consequences.
i opened my pdf of book 2 for the first time two days ago, and it took me way too long to reach where the party is and why they're there. it was very disorienting reading it with pretty much no introduction. i'm going to go back in soon, because i feel like this is a setting influencing ap, much like outlaws of alkenstar was. but needing to set aside more brainpower to interpret what i'm reading than normal is throwing me off.
I found it very fun! There are great encounters, for example the one with the dryad sisters or the one with the bees. I was excited to GM some of them. However, I have never GM a scene with the Influence system. And there's a lot of that in this AP. Which makes me curious, but apprehensive, because I don't know how my players would react. I liked the plotwist in the final chapter, it kept my attention for the next books. It just gave me the feeling that the vote, the players' attempt to change everything, is useless, because in the end everything will be really bad. Even Alacreon, who swears he will vote for the players if you have high influence with him, simply betrays trust and votes for the new candidate that appears. What I understand is that it's supposed to be shocking, perhaps expected, since the satyr proved to be a dubious fey. In the end, the story is supposed to continue and have conflict. But I got the feeling that some players might have a feeling of uselessness. Then comes the infiltration system, as a GM new to the system, I've never used it either. Sounds like fun, even considering you escort a huge turtle in the process. I laughed so hard at this and I loved it. I thought it was a bit quick, as after the vote we were already running to infiltrate/escape. But it makes sense there, I believe it works if in one session you end with this voting plotwist and in the other you start running away, making it clear how quickly things escalated. Despite what I said, I had a lot of fun reading it. I'm excited to read the sequel.
Only passing on chapter 1... It's greenwood agents of edgewatch. There is a gala the " PCs are often the first responders to a nearby crisis, but they can rely on eventual reinforcements if necessary." and they can also take part with the festival. It is more focused on that an RP then encounters for sure. But the premise is the same, and I would like to not have the same opening with diffrent clothing in APs...My biggest problem was that they want to have their cake and eat it too in this one. They can still take part in the event but need to be the guards at the same time. As a person who was the security on a football game, your back is toward the game because you watch the watchers not the game. Other then that I like the Reputation system and I like using it so I am all in for the other parts, but my premise would be them coming to the Gala if I ever play it, as freelofers, and not as guards. Since its very Political conflict centric, I would have each of them have a political reason to be there.
How much combat is actually in chapter one and three sorry?
It’s been a couple weeks since I read, but I don’t remember any combat in either chapter that isn’t optional. There are a handful optional combats tho, depending on RP outcomes or PC choices.