Carrion Crown – Haunting of Harrowstone Review: Pathfinder Adventure Path #43

I’ve always been a bit skeptical of modules. The only exclusion to this being the Tomb of Horrors, because let’s be honest, IT’S THE MOTHERLOVIN’ TOMB OF HORRORS PEOPLE!

But I digress. I’m not a pre-made DM\GM sort. Part of what I’ve always found appealing is the creative design process of developing a fantastic experience for my players. I also have a couple of my own worlds that have been developed over the years for different game systems based on my preferences for lower magic\dark fantasy and steampunk (shocking I know) settings. Typically I like my players to have to work creatively and hard to earn their rewards, something that I was a bit wary of when our group settled on the Pathfinder RPG system for our weekly ongoing game.

Paizo, the makers of Pathfinder Role Playing system, produce adventure paths (campaign modules for us old schoolers) on a very regular basis, likely monthly. So I’m figuring they have a slave pit of writers churning out material somewhere beneath in Paizo HQ. So this is handy for GM’s that have less time than we did as teens to sit around and draw up and populate dungeons, much less build layers upon layer of intrigue for a more refined gaming audience.

Well our group decided on the Carrion Crown modules out of a few options, both hombrewed and other Paizo offerings. I think the inherent homage to classic horror, Lovecraft, and some non-typical RP elements made it more appealing for our group. So we’ll be looking at the first of the six part series: The Haunting of Harrowstone. To make it easy this is what those writer slaves at Paizo have to say about it:

Wait wait wait…to be fair SPOILERS are coming…Okay back to you’re regular scheduled reading…

Chapter 1: “Haunting of Harrowstone”
by Michael Kortes

When Harrowstone Prison burned to the ground, prisoners, guards, and a host of vicious madmen met a terrifying end. In the years since, the nearby town of Ravengro has shunned the fire-scarred ruins, telling tales of unquiet spirits that wander abandoned cellblocks. But when a mysterious evil disturbs Harrowstone’s tenuous spiritual balance, a ghostly prison riot commences that threatens to consume the nearby village in madness and flames. Can the adventurers discover the secrets of Harrowstone and quell a rebellion of the dead? Or will they?

The book, as do most of their Adventure Paths contain loads of local information about the area\beliefs\condition concerning the cities and locales that the story take place in. There are unique bestiaries in each module, with some of those monster appearing again in later chapters as well as maps, and “journel” entries which is a nice cohesive story running the length of the series. Another nice addition is a music list by the authors to help create a nice ambiance.

Haunting of Harrowstone lays the groundwork for the entire series by introducing a new mechanism of Trust points with the locals at the town of Ravengro. Based on the party’s action they can hinder or help their investigation as well as trigger certain events or deny them experience. There is a feel of two distinct parts to the first chapter of the Carrion Crown path. The first half of the story, supplemented by a free downloadable players appendix, details the party’s affiliation with one Professor Lorrimor who has met his end and they are asked\compelled to investigate the occurrences surrounding his death at the burned down and supposedly haunted Harrowstone Prison.

There is a series of investigations that happen during this first part of the adventure, as well as a number of creepy events that unfold as the spirits in Harrowstone grow stronger. Without giving too much away, the trust level of the party with the members of Ravnegro are essential to their successes in investigation. This is the first hint, or homage paid to H.P. Lovecraft’s works.

Now some of the reviews I’ve read on Haunting of Harrowstone complain of the railroad element to the story. And it is true that if you have resistant\uncooperative players then maybe you need to consider a more open world format and avoid most adventure paths. And while the story can unfold minus the investigation, it creates the mystery\horror feel of the series more. So perhaps take some liberty with getting your party into the investigation if possible. As a final thought on the railroading, I will say this first chapter definitely has more of that feel than any other chapter so far. It mostly has to do I believe with the establishing of purpose and relationship with the characters. Once relationships stand there is more motivation for their involvement.

The second half of the path is a traditional, and potentially tedious, dungeon crawl through the layers of the prison. I learned here to take some liberty with removing or glossing over some encounters as my party became frustrated with the constant battling going on. And the prison took us numerous sessions to get through. That being said, if you have a party that loves smash and grab, then they’ll really enjoy the second half.

The writers did a great job laying the foundation for what I feel are, story wise, better latter chapters. They also give you some excellent bad guys to work with in the four major spirits at Ravengro. But be warned, if you’re dealing with a small party or they unexpectedly stumble on them, you may risk a character death or two…it happens…happened.

All in all the series is a really unique break from the traditional campaigns and is only showing signs of getting even better and more interesting with each chapter. If you’re group in down with a different take on the typical campaign blended with some excellent elements of horror, give the first part Haunting of Harrowstone a shot.