This pdf is 12 pages long, 1 page is taken up by the SRD, which means we get 11 pages for the haunts the best bang-to-buck-ratio of the 2-Dozen-series so far.
The threat-range covered ranges from moderately dangerous (CR 1) to potentially lethal (CR 13). There are no high-level haunts in these pages.
I really like the writing in this one: The haunts are mostly imaginative and offer some great adventure hooks on how to get rid of them – my favorite one being a haunt of a judge that forces people to tell the truth: Do the PCs free the spirit or acknowledge that a court with a zone of truth can be immensely helpful? There are also some rather lame ones, but only 2 haunts felt really like filler.
Unfortunately, the editing problems of the series also plague this installment. I found the following on my first read-through:
The first haunt is missing its caster level, “the devil’s anvil” uses the 3.5-destruction mechanics (save-or-die/10d6) and there is a typo in “Old Jonas’s Critique” – both errors could have easily been fixed/noticed.
There might be more.
Conclusion:
I like the concept of haunts, it’s one of my favorite innovations implemented by Paizo. However, the haunts, while nice, lack the “OMG-this-is-so-awesome”-component of e.g. the linked haunts from the Rite Publishing #30-Haunt-series that would make a truly outstanding product. That would mean that the file clocks in at 4 stars – good, but not great. However, due to the glaring editing mistakes, I’ll detract another star. My final verdict will be 3 stars. If you are annoyed by system-incompatibilities/typos, detract another one.
Rating: [3 of 5 Stars!] |