Pathfinder Adventure Path: Reign of Winter Part 1 - The Snows of Summer (Pathfinder Adventure Path, 67)

We've had a lot of good adventure paths from the folks at Paizo, starting with the famous Rise of the Runelords from back in D&D 3.5 edition days. They've also had them in many different settings, including in different cities, a horror path, a pirate path and now finally, an arctic setting adventure path.This is a good starting adventure where the players start out in a town with a warm climate that is experiencing an unusual cold snap in the middle of the summer. From there, the players rescue a noble woman and end up in the frozen northlands, home of an evil witch queen, daughter to Baba Yaga.The starting hook could have been a bit stronger to get the players interested and involved, and the adventure is a bit linear, but the overall plot of his module is good and there are some interesting NPCs and villains along the way.

I have to disagree with other reviews. This AP is challenging, but then again isn't that half the fun. I find it impossible to conceive that a properly balanced and prepared party would nearly TPW as often as some imply. This AP is fantastic taking players and GMs on a trip through the story of Baba Yaga, not Irrisen as I originally thought. I have plans to run this with a party made of all "wilds" classed players in the future and cannot wait for it.A note about this AP, if you prep your players with the idea that its only going to take place in Irrisen then you're going to run into problems. Read all of the AP first, a practice I highly recommend, before you even sit them down for character creation. You won't regret it.

Fun if you love Russia like folk lore. Not so much if you don't want to try to pronounce those names. Eeeek.

I ran this for my group, and it took forever. If you enjoy combat after combat with very little opportunity to interact with NPCs outside of combat then grab this one, otherwise I would warn against it.

My son loves this! Great condition!

I LOVE this AP, but do take some warning from the 1-star comments previously. This is a difficult campaign, and for new players and DM's can sometimes seem insurmountable. But remember, if you are a DM, YOU are the creator of the world, and have the absolute liberty to modify an AP to make it suit your players and play style. Examples:1. No cold iron weapons for those pesky fey/DR enemies? Why not have the black rider give your melee characters some spares of his own, as well as a couple of early on cure potions for the tough battles he knows are ahead. You could swap out the cure potions for endure elements potions (or wand). The Black Rider is a veteran warrior, and it would not be unreasonable to give your PC's some early advantages.2. Too many enemies for a new or smaller party? Knock some of them out completely and take the numbers down to a manageable level. Especially swarms, if your party isn't going to be up for those kinds of encounters (melee-focused or no splash spells/capabilities).3. Too combat focused with no opportunity for role play? Again, YOU create the world, so you create the kinds of roleplay. This is an unnatural patch of winter. Having somebody who got snuck in the snow (a traveling merchant stuck under his cart after he slid off of the normal path for example) or meeting other travelers on their own adventures to find out what is going on (there's no reason your party has to be the only one, especially early on) can add levity and roleplaying opportunities to the campaign. You also can skip a recommended combat or move combats to different days. You don't have to follow the book to the letter, and if you don't tell your players they will never know they missed out on fighting two raven swarms that they were entirely unprepared for.4. Storyline/path is too linear? I see this as a win. This means that your PC's can get sidetracked and you will always have a point you can bring them to in the AP that puts them right back on track. If you can expand into a more give-and-take style that allows for a lot more fun and freedom for both yourself and your players, it makes the whole experience so much better for everyone and can be useful when faced with long treks through an unending winter. Providing landmarks outside of the campaign book (a cave of wild animals that the druid can calm enough for the party to rest for the night, or a secluded lodge in the woods that gives some foreshadowing of a character they may meet later or an event that is going to come) also takes away from having a focus just on combat or on the "You travel three more days" that is written into the book.Ultimately, this AP (the full one) lets you explore all sorts of different realms and meet all kinds of interesting and dynamic characters. Yes, this campaign's combat is built for experienced players and a well-rounded party, but it gives you a strong linear path to follow that makes it easy to come back to if (read: when) your PC's get sidetracked. Whether or not this AP will be fun for you and your players all depends on how rigorously you allow the campaign book to control your storytelling, and how much freedom you give your players in making their own decisions. I will be running this with players who are new to DnD and one who is experienced in 5E but not with Pathfinder. I take the great story that the AP sets up for me and I will be changing things so that combat will be challenging but not insurmountable, and so that enemy encounters, NPC's, even some of the traps (read: hilarious shrieking snowmen) will have a levity to them that keeps my players laughing even in a rolling blizzard. If you keep your mind open and are willing to change things up to suit your group and play style, this is a great campaign setting.

I have never, ever - in over 20 years of roleplaying - witnessed an adventure less suited for a 1st level party than this one.The premise is weak and the whole adventure hook hilariously silly. In all honesty the adventure starts with: "Hey, an entire band of seasoned mercenaries was just slaughtered by an unknown, mysterious force, why don't we send this small group of bloody beginners to investigate?"Then the party is railroaded along a path, riddled with traps, in a hostile environment that simply takes ranged combat away from the players (-4 to all ranged attacks) and is spiked with enemies that a 1st level party simply has *no* means against.Just to elaborate: we have flying enemies, invisible enemies (by the spell or stealth +20), enemies with damage reduction (and no access to appropriate weaponry), regenerating enemies, spellcasting enemies (3 color sprays in 1 battle come to mind...) and most actually with several of the above at once. At level 1.A DM who does not *seriously* pull her punches can easily wipe the party once per session during the early adventure. And what is the point of having ridiculously overpowered enemies and then playing them dumb as a doorknob?Add to that the usual terrible math (too many enemies can drop a 1st level character with a single hit, autokill him with a crit, several require an 18+ for the average PC to hit given the environment and so on...) and you have one slow, frustrating and incredibly pointless experience that is no fun whatsoever to play.Can't say anything about the rest of this adventure path - and probably never will - but the beginning is a complete disaster.

interesting and gave my son ideas for d&d