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Pathfinder RPG: A Simple Job

A Simple Job

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.

Return to A Simple Job page.

Reviewed: 10 November 2016