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.

Return to Ignorance is Bliss page.

Reviewed: 11 November 2016