This adventure in the series is based around the characters investigating the circumstances of an increasing number of citizens being found in a catatonic state. There are plenty of clues to follow up initially with many more appearing as the investigation progresses. More NPC's and key city figures are introduced with amazing detail and most of the areas of the city not previously visited in the last adventure are passed through in this one.

While there is a little more combat in this chapter it is still focused more on skills, abilities and roleplay rather than a straight hack 'n' slash with a great mechanic thrown in to simulate a a chase through a crowded city, think the opening scene in Casino Royale or the chase in Point Break (the good Keanu version) or any of the pakour videos on youtube. With a massive twist at the end worthy of Hitchcock.

The two things I really loved about playing this adventure were firstly the darkening tone and the ever increasing insanity. As a big Cthulhu fan this really worked for me and there are definite Lovecraftian like tones winding through the narrative. Secondly it turns the common concpets of "good" and "evil" on thier heads.

This adventure in the series is based around the characters investigating the circumstances of an increasing number of citizens being found in a catatonic state. There are plenty of clues to follow up initially with many more appearing as the investigation progresses. More NPC's and key city figures are introduced with amazing detail and most of the areas of the city not previously visited in the last adventure are passed through in this one.

While there is a little more combat in this chapter it is still focused more on skills, abilities and roleplay rather than a straight hack 'n' slash with a great mechanic thrown in to simulate a a chase through a crowded city, think the opening scene in Casino Royale or the chase in Point Break (the good Keanu version) or any of the pakour videos on youtube. With a massive twist at the end worthy of Hitchcock.

The two things I really loved about playing this adventure were firstly the darkening tone and the ever increasing insanity. As a big Cthulhu fan this really worked for me and there are definite Lovecraftian like tones winding through the narrative. Secondly it turns the common concpets of "good" and "evil" on thier heads.

I played this recently in Pathfinder and I found I quite enjoyed the shift in focus the author has made from a combat heavy heroic style of play to a more role play skills based adventure. The setting starts gloomy and just gets darker from there and while it may feel as though you're led a little at times, really, what group doesn't need a nudge every now and then? I have recently changed over to 5th edition version so I thought I'd give it a look and it actually looks a litle tougher due to the changed skills system...

Overall as a player I thought this is definitely one of the better offerings on the market today. It is well written with some really good art work

This, the third adventure in the What Lies Beyond Reason Adventure Path, seeks to scare the living daylights out of the party, if not their players as well. The introduction starts in on this theme as the author muses about how the adventure began as a stand-alone haunted house scenario... which never got run! The reasoning behind this leads to a discussion on how to do 'scary' at your gaming table. It can be hard - the communual nature of a gaming group mitigates against the isolation of something genuinely scary, the threat of loss is not as great when you can roll up a new character and carry on, and - well, what's new? Your players will have seen it all before, even if their characters have not... or will they? No cheap thrills here, but solidly thought-out building of threat...

The adventure consists of the exploration of a long-ruined building, once the manor of a respected family. The adventure background provides the low-down of the family history right up to the present day. Aimed at 5th-level characters, there are notes on adjusting it up or down a level depending on where your party actually is levelwise. It is a location-based sandbox, the party are free to wander around as they will within (and under) the ruined manor house and its grounds. Interestingly, although information gleaned here is useful in understanding what is going on as regards the adventure path as a whole, this adventure isn't strictly speaking necessary so don't worry if the party does not pick up on everything that might be found here. However, there is real danger here too, and the ramifications of that are discussed... after all, the purpose of this adventure is to give even the most jaded party a true jolt of fear!

The adventure opens with the party actually going to the house, something that ought to happen fairly quickly, a matter of days, after the previous adventure (Ignorance is Bliss). The opening scene depends on how quickly they go there, a neat reminder that the world goes on around them. With information and rumours to gather before they go, and plenty of detailed description to go with the maps and plans (replicated in player-friendly format in the accompanying map pack), you are provided with everything you need to cope with the party wandering around the place (although thorough study before you actually run the game will repay you with a deeper understanding of the significance of all that is to be found).

This is a thought-provoking adventure providing a wealth of background about one of the major antagonists of the adventure path. Some may find it dull but it will repay perseverence, even for those who are not enamoured of traditional 'horror' adventures, with opportunities for creative thought as well as giving opportunity for creative approaches to combat. It's a very mature adventure - as in grown up, not smutty(!) - that has the potential to become a memorable part of the party's history.

In the Introduction, the author muses on 'villany' as a concept and explains the differing natures and motivations of the three main antagonists in the What Lies Beyond Reason Adventure Path, of which this is the second adventure. The Adventure Background then introduces one of them - for the GM, the party will only get to know about this one and what she's really up to later on, although they will have met her unawares... There's also material about recent events and what is going on at the moment, to set the scene for this adventure. Good intentions go badly wrong, and that's when the party is finds someone in a catatonic state... they may choose to investigate or get hired to do so.

This is a 4th-level adventure, and the previous one in the Adventure Path should have ended with the party at 3rd-level. It's assumed you've run the odd side-adventure (the Campaign Guide has suggestions) but if for any reason you have not, there are notes for running this at 3rd-level - or if they've been really busy, further notes covering an adaptation to 5th-level. This adventure is a free-form investigation with plenty of clues scattered around, and multiple routes to solving the case - a neat way of letting the party loose.

Other notes cover alignment - with lots of the antagonists not being actually 'evil' per se, just really misguided, a party relying on alignment-based spells could be at a disadvantage. Ways around this are provided, but do try to keep the 'shades of grey' approach - after all, how many villains really think that they are evil? These ones don't, they all have good motivations for what they are up to, even if the rest of us might think that they have crossed a line. The final note talks about how aware the bad guys are of the party's investigations, providing a mechanism for them to become more and more alert and on edge, potentially influencing the final confrontation - a neat idea for this type of investigative adventure.

Throughout the adventure, there are events and clues a-plenty, with a few red herrings scattered amongst the clues that will lead the party to what is going on. It's well-resourced, with lots of little details to help you make it all come to life, and options for when the party goes in the opposite direction from the one intended or expected (and of course, parties tend to do that!), troubleshooting notes that give you clear ideas of what to do to keep the investigation on track without having to grab the party by the scruff of the neck. Investigation - as in moving around the city following clues and talking to people - is the main activity in this adventure, but those who prefer to get more physical will get opportunities to fight as well, particularly in the final scene... and there is an excellent chase scene as well!

There are a few new creatures and expansive notes on the main NPCs invovled, and good plans and notes of the building in which the climactic events take place. A map folder is included in the download providing large player-friendly maps of important locations. There are some 4th-level pregenerated characters too, in case for some reason you do not have your own party (or if you've been using the ones presented in earlier adventures and want them updated to an appropriate level).

It's a fun adventure to run and one which approaches an investigation-heavy scenario elegantly.

After an Introduction in which the author muses about the relative merits of 'sandbox' (freedom for the party to choose what they do in pursuit of their own goals) and 'railroad' (the party must follow a set path to accomplish adventure-set goals) adventures and explains that both sorts - and things inbetween - will be found in the adventure path of which this is the first adventure, we move on to a lengthy Adventure Path Introduction. Scene set, then the adventure itself which is intended to be a low-key introduction to the city of Anduria, and is a bit of an unapologetic railroad scenario. It's assumed that the party have played the introductory adventure Difficult Circumstances, but notes are provided to ease in those who have not.

The adventure itself is a series of simple (yeah, right) tasks that the party need to accomplish to fulfil a job they've been given by a merchant to retrieve and deliver some items on his behalf. It will take them all over the city and introduce them to some interesting folks. Intended for 2nd-level characters, which the party should be if they have played through Difficult Circumstances, notes are provided as to how to scale up the adventure to 3rd-level if, for example, you've run a side-adventure or two of your own before putting this one in front of the party. There are also notes on technology and on themes - both things discussed at further length in the Campaign Guide - and on the sometimes tricky question of sex - the errands include a visit to, ahem, a brothel. If that doesn't suit you and your players, advice on how to change that errand to something more innocuous is provided. Pregenerated characters and a map pack are provided to support your game.

The adventure involves a lot of travelling around what is a rather large city - eight miles across, quite massive in fantasy/mediaeval terms - and a variety of modes of transport are available. It can be time-consuming, and as written the adventure has a timetable to adhere to (although you could abandon that if you don't care for keeping track!), although plenty of notes are provided to help you keep on top of how long everything is taking. And of course there may be encounters and other delays from stopping for a pint of beer to getting arrested...

All the way through, there's lots of detail to make the scene come alive and notes on troubleshooting whenever the party deviates from the intended track. The various twists and turns in said intended track flow naturally, although forced it appears spontaneous - a neat trick to pull off. Opportunities to fight, negotiate and investigate abound, whatever your party enjoys doing will be catered for and there's never a dull moment... and, delightfully, just about everything the party does will have repercussions for good or for ill later on.

This is quite a delight, what urban adventures ought to be, taking full advantage of the setting to tell your story.

It's a bit startling to find my name mentioned in the author's introduction (all I did was review the Player's Guide put out for the What Lies Beyond Reason Adventure Path of which this is the first adventure!), but once over that shock, let's move on to the Adventure Background. At this point in time, it's really only for the GM as the party is going to be thrust headlong into events without the option, but these are things they will be wanting to find out as the game proceeds, which gives another reason apart from it being useful for you to know what is going on!

It all starts in an inn, but this scenario takes that rather hackneyed opening and turns it into the adventure itself... as the whole building collapses under the weight of the storm the party is taking refuge from, depositing them into some underground caves where they find far more than they had bargained for... and once they emerge they face an overland trek to a hostile city. There's quite a cast of NPCs to get your head around, and some fascinating useful notes about how to make sure that the party, not them, remain at centre stage throughout - espeically useful as this adventure is designed for first-level characters and many of them have a few more levels under their belts.

Descriptions are detailed and atmospheric, and the party is invited to join in, with the assumption being that they are a random bunch of folks sheltering from the storm rather than an already-formed adventuring group (although it works fine if they are...). The underground cave system is clearly mapped - with top-down and side elevations to help you get the picture - and there's a map pack included with the download to provide plans for combat. Another neat touch is the trouble-shooting advice. "What if the party does/doesn't do...?" with plenty of suggestions of how to get around them failing to do something quite pivotal to the adventure - without a shred of railroading, either, all manner of subtle nuances and inventive workarounds to make sure that everything required for further adventures in the Adventure Path is in place.

The trip to the city is provided with several enounters which are worth including, you can add your own or 'handwave' the rest of the journey as best suits your style. Both the cavern exploration and the journey are designed to set characters a bit on edge, give them the feeling that something is very, very wrong; and everything that transpires should heighten that feeling. It gets no better on arrival, with a fledging riot outside the gates and unhelpful guards more interested in protecting the city than maintaining the peace. A tense negotiation follows...

There's a lot packed into this adventure, with spelunking, survival, combat, opportunities for interaction and more. Characters who survive to the end are likely to reach second level and know that they have embarked on no ordinary campaign... Definitely one to watch, one to enjoy (from either side of the GM screen)... and circumstances are only going to get more difficult!

Designed as a GM resource (players, stay well away!), it's not actually necessary to run the Adventure Path but provides additional material that will enhance your game and offer wider options. It also gives the author a platform to share some of his ideas about underlying thoughts and concepts, a bit of a peek behind the curtain that may prove of interest - but does not, of course, dictate how it should be played.

The work is made up of six sections, beginning with Campaign Background. Compared to the backstory sections in the first three installments of the Adventure Path itself, this is a bit of a swift summary, capturing the high points and showing you how everything hangs together... and it all begins when a mismatched group of fledgling adventurers takes shelter from a storm in a ramshackle country inn. A synopsis of each adventure in the Adventure Path follows, highlighting important incidents and NPCs that you should bear in mind as the series progresses.

Next is a section on Running the Campaign, which looks at both in-game and out-of-game facets of the process. There's a lot here, beginning with the twin themes of thriller/horror and epic fantasy - and the need to maintain some level of good taste at your table. Some aspects may prove difficult for young or sensitive players and they are discussed here: points to bear in mind, but of course you know your players and what they can handle. The ramifications of the rarity of divine magic in the setting is discussed along with the general dim view that is taken of religion altogether. Signs and portents, rewards and punishment, redeption and atonement are all covered along with major NPCs, using 'reputation' and more.

This is followed by notes on the City Setting and a detailed City Gazetteer. Your party will spend a fair bit of time here, so it is worth getting to know it well so that you can present it to them effectively. There are maps and notes on locations and people the length and breadth of the city, along with details of law enforcement, crime and punishment and, well, everything you'll need to make the place come alive as a backdrop for the adventures.

Then there are suggestions for Alternate or Adjusted Campaigns. Perhaps there's something in the Adventure Path as written that you would like to change. Notes cover some of the headline aspects that you might want to vary, with ideas about how to go about it and how much such a change would alter the nature of the adventures (and indications of how much work you'd need to do to effect the change you have in mind). This is a refreshing change to most settings, where about the only thing touched upon is whether you want to run the adventures in your own campaign world rather than the one provided. (That option is included in case you want to use another city, however!)

Finally, there are four side-trek adventures you can weave in to the overall plot and a Bestiary with full details of all novel creatures that show up during the course of the entire Adventure Path. The side-treks enhance the plot, although their omission won't spoil anything (and they are quite fun!), and it's nice to have all these ghastly critters gathered into one place! The download also includes a map pack with a glorious city map and a few other useful maps of places in which brawls might take place - always useful!

Overall, this provides a thoughtful companion to the Adventure Path and is well worth study both before and during the time you are running it.

I bought a copy of this after having played it recently. I found I quite enjoyed the shift in focus the author has made from a combat heavy heroic style of play to a more role play skills based adventure. The setting starts gloomy and just gets darker from there and while it may feel as though you're led a little at times, really, what group doesn't need a nudge every now and then?

Overall as a player I thought this is definitely one of the better offerings on the market today. It is well written with some really good art work.

Having picked this up, I can say that it has a lot of features that I really like for an introductory adventure. It starts off with a very solemn tone, and begins more with a focus on survival than traditional heroics which is a nice change from some others that thrust you into the thick of battle. Instead, you end up needing to battle the environment as much as any monster, leading you into a solid travel segment.

The art and detail on the trip to your destination is quite nice for setting the scene, and the adventure does a good job of playing up the shift in tone between sections, allowing the players to immerse themselves in the setting as they travel along, giving a very tense atmosphere until the end of the book.

A few things that I didn't like were a very small amount of female NPCs included, as well as what feels like an excessive amount of flavor text, although to be fair it's quite easy to cut it down to what you need for your specific game. There's also a bit of rules looseness that can aggravate the more strict of players, and the adventure does have a clear set of rails after a point, even if there are moments where those rails are expertly hidden. There's also a bit of a mechanical drag in the later part of the book, hammering weakness into the party which can get frustrating, but the book itself has steps for how to mitigate this.

The amount of effort that goes into detailing the NPCs and setting up the world offsets this though to the point where it's still a very nice journey to take a part on, and the companion book to this does such a great job of setting up the city that it's hard not to get a sense of grand adventure coming in later installments.

There's also a lot of personality from the writer that you can sense in this (sometimes a touch too much), but overall it helps make the NPCs and setting pop in a way that will help your party members remember important facts, making this a solid starting point for what I hope to be a full adventure path!

An Endzeitgeist.com review

This freshman offering by Pyromaniac Press clocks in at 18 pages, 1 page front cover, 1 page editorial, 1 page SRD, 1 page back cover/KS-advertisement, leaving us with 14 pages, so let's take a look!

We begin this player's guide with a brief introduction of the fully statted eternal city of Anduria, which is btw. also featured in the rather neat map of the lands surrounding its monolithic, titanic walls. Anduria...ringed by 100 feet high walls of unknown, strange stone featuring enigmatic bas-reliefs of strange robed figures (stunningly rendered in the prequel-module, btw.!), a patchwork of the old and new, with its canals and even single building sporting different architectural styles, certainly is a metropolis that can be called fantastic in the best of ways and the players reading this guide will get to know at least the basics about the diverse wards within these colossal walls.

Since adventurers are prone to seek out taverns for employ, trouble and ale, 10 particular taverns are spotlighted in aptly-written, concise prose and the reader of this pdf will also be filled in on the government and the guild-driven power-structure within the city...and obviously, as a consequence, also be able to familiarize oneself with the guilds, both great and small - the respective write-ups sport names, primary services rendered, the guild master, membership requirements and benefits and thus a massive array of potential roleplaying opportunities.

Both daily life in the massive city and its culture is well represented, including the relatively humane punitive measures employed within the city for law-breakers - and yes, this section also mentions common strategies to weasel out of a law-based predicament.

Local "pests", psychic motes and transportation within the city's confines is covered as well and a brief note on surrounding areas is also featured here. The second section features thankfully spoiler-free advice for making characters that actually will be useful in the campaign, including suggestions for bloodlines, etc. Anduria, being a tolerant city, does not extend this tolerance to the divine, thus, such characters may require to hide their calling (If you want to know why, that's explained in the plot of the AP in more detail...) and new skill uses to this effect as well as ones that let you navigate the city's red tape are provided.

The pdf ends with a couple of per se pretty solid traits, though I do have some complaints here: There is no such thing as "Arcane" or "Divine" traits - the proper types would be "Faith" and "Magic". Additionally, the bonuses granted in one of the traits lack the trait-type - though the other traits get it right. Conclusion:

Editing and formatting are pretty good, particularly for a freshman offering - the rules-language, where present, is pretty concise and the prose is well-crafted. There are sometimes minor glitches that make single lines a bit wobbly-looking in the rendition, but this remains the exception. Layout adheres to a nice 2-column two-color standard. The pdf comes sans bookmarks, which is okay at this brief length. The map and one piece of artwork is nice (and believe me - the Prequel's art is NEAT!). One peculiarity that annoyed me is the non-standard formatting of skills: It's not "Profession: Lawyer", it's "Profession (Lawyer)" -cosmetic, I know, but still...

This player's guide does a great job - for one, it does not spoil anything; it also does make you excited about the massive metropolis and its unique social structure and options and is a nice hint at the things to come. As a freshman offering, this is pretty impressive...and it's free. Granted, the file is massive (118 MBs), but in my book, being pay what you want does offset the minor hiccups that can be found here. So please, take a look, download and read this and check out the Kickstarter if you like what you're seeing! My final verdict will clock in at 4.5 stars, rounded up for the purpose of this platform.

Endzeitgeist out.

Reading over this player's guide, I was able to get a real sense of the city and everything it had to offer. The descriptions of the city itself were evocative enough to allow me to visualize them clearly, and the detail on the settlement itself was enough to let me know everything I needed if I wanted to run a game in a city like this.

It has a strong metropolitan feel to it, and while I might be somewhat singular in this, I actually really enjoyed the elaborations on the legal system and proceedings that helped flesh out the area, making it feel more like a living city than a lot of other ones, really beyond what I would have expected for a player's guide.

While I did find the player options a bit sparse, everything else was top notch, giving me a sense that a lot of things could happen in this city. Really, any complaints I have could simply be addressed in this getting a more detailed release later to expand upon the current material, as this is a solid base if you even wanted to consider using this city in regular games.

The Introduction, coupled with a map of the city of Anduria, sets the scene for the What Lies Beyond Reason adventure path. The book is made up of two parts, one about the city and one about creating characters suitable for the adventures to be played out there. Whilst the campaign can be played on any campaign world, it's recommended that this fascinating city is used - there's likely to be a suitable location for it on whatever world you want to use.

The City section describes Anduria in considerable detail (whilst promising more in a forthcoming Campaign Guide. It's the level of information that a well-informed visitor ought to be able to glean, with history and legends as well as an outline of the different parts of the city. It's a bustling place, home to many races, with a busy marketplace and many established commercial concerns. Adventurers been notoriously thirsty, a listing of ten of the best-known taverns in town is likely to be well-used. There are many active guilds, who hold the power via a city council. These are interesting in that they go beyond the traditional 'trade association' view of a guild, different guilds being responsible for running various aspects of city management - such as providing public works, ambassadors, healing, civil defence and so on - yet many grant admission based more on ability to pay a fee than any skill or achievement related to the guild's area of interest.

Further information covers daily life, prevalent attitudes (such as the viewing of all overt religious belief with disfavour), law and order and even the local 'pest problem' of tiny balls of energy that swarm around like elemental insects. All combine to paint a picture of an intriging and well-developed city that would make an interesting destination for a visit.

Section 2: Adventurers helps players create suitable characters, bearing in mind the What Lies Beyond Reason is essentially an urban campaign. Classes which favour interaction are likely to be more successful, with fighting men equally welcome (although those who like to ride will find limited opportunities in the crowded streets!). Those of a more wild background - barbarians or classes suited to wilderness life - may stand out a little, but are welcomed provided they can adapt to city life. Clerics will have to watch their step in a city that is intolerant of religion. On the other hand, there's no racial intolerance, so characters of any race will be made welcome. So will most forms of companions, familiars, eidolons, and the like - the city prides itself on being cosmopolitan. Whilst interaction skills such as Bluff, Diplomacy or Sense Motive will come in handy, the Adventure Path will provide ample opportunity for those with martial skills and those aimed at activities such as infiltration to shine in their turn. There are some notes on new uses for old skills appropriate to the city, and (should you care to use them) some campaign traits.

A nice balance of 'fluff' and 'crunch' sets the scene without giving much away, providing an intriging setting that sounds like it would be entertaining to visit, never mind the adventures that are in the works. Can't wait for more!