Deadly Delves: Doom of the Sky Sword (PFRPG) by Walter Sheppard is a role playing game supplement published by Jon Brazer Enterprises for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. As such, it is covered by the Open Game License and some parts are considered to be Open Game Content as a result. This is an adventure for 1st level characters that is also available in a version for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition.
This is a 14-page PDF that is available from DriveThruRPG for $3.95 but was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. Two pages are the front and rear covers, one page is the front matter, one the Open Game License and one page is an ad.
The Adventure Background explain that the primary antagonist, a huldra, was kept captive by a coven of troll witches until they disappeared. She ventured forth to the city but found herself chased away by an angry mob because of her fey nature. A small logging consortium decided to expand operations into the forest the huldra calls home and she has used tricks and magic to drive away the loggers.
The Adventure Summary has the characters hired by the consortium to find the problem and fix it. A giant sword had appeared in the middle of the logging camp with a warning on it. The huldra, when encountered, is not initially hostile and she can be negotiated with to come up with a solution that is satisfactory to all parties. Or the characters could simply kill her.
The characters will first encounter refugees from the logging camp, who will explain what they saw. They can then explore the camp itself before venturing into the woods and facing some opposition. Finally, they will reach the cave belonging to the huldra, the former home of the troll witches. This is not the most pleasant of places, thanks to the previous occupants, and contains haunts and undead. There are several different options for how the adventure can turn out; the best leaves every party, including the characters, happy, but will require negotiation.
Deadly Delves: Doom of the Sky Sword (PFRPG) in Review
The PDF is well bookmarked for its length, with major and minor sections linked. Navigation is very good. There is a list of the referenced books at the front and although there are, not obvious, links to D20PFSRD from a number of the creatures, these only link to the front page of the site rather than the individual creature. The text maintains a two-column full colour format and appeared to be free of errors, with colour illustrations that look as if they may be custom and a colour map of the cave. Sadly, the map doesn’t come in a player-friendly version.
A party that approaches this adventure with a forceful method may fare rather badly, as there are a number of potentially hazardous encounters. However, some encounters can be avoided and the entire adventure can be resolved peacefully in the final encounter, rewarding a more thoughtful approach. Deadly Delves: Doom of the Sky Sword (PFRPG) is a decent little adventure that should work well for 1st level parties that don’t approach it from a brute force point of view and it can be found by clicking here.
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