Forbidden Isle of the Nightstalkers (P1) by Creighton Broadhurst is a role playing game supplement published by Raging Swan Press 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 3rd level characters.
The supplement is available as a PDF from DriveThruRPG for $5.45, as a print on demand softcover for $11.99 or as both PDF and softcover for $11.99. The PDF is the version reviewed although it was purchased at a reduced price as part of a special bundle. It has 37 pages with two being the front and rear covers, two being ads, one the Contents and Foreword and one the Open Game License. The PDF comes in two versions, one designed for print and high-end devices, the other for mobile and low-end devices.
The Foreword briefly explains how the supplement came to be.
What Has Gone Before gives the background to the adventure, how a vampire created a number of spawn before he was destroyed, how the Forbidden Isle came to be as the villagers wanted to look for a cure to their turned loved ones and the recent arrival of a priest who wants to experiment on the vampire spawn. It explains that the adventure is set in the Salt Mire and the village of Thornhill in the Ashlar setting, but could be moved. It explains that there are moral dilemmas for the characters, and it’s possible to complete it with little or even no combat. Darlen is a major god for the adventure, and his details are given.
The Adventure Begins has three hooks, assuming the characters don’t just stumble on the isle.
Whispers & Rumours has six rumours to hear.
Legends & Lore has lore for the original vampire and the adventuring band that destroyed him.
Thornhill & Surrounds details the village. The village itself is covered in Village Backdrop: Thornhill, and everything from that supplement looks to be duplicated in this one. However, the village is expanded on, with d12 events to happen, expansions of all the locations, including anything that can be bought at them and at least one adventure hook for them all. There are also relevant clues that can be discovered in the village. Even those who own the original supplement will find a lot of new details about Thornhill. The Salt Mire is also given some details in this section, with a description, d6 tables of wilderness dressing, things to find, random encounters and minor events, a map and a sidebar suggesting 20 Things #54: Noisome Marsh or Wilderness Dressing: Swamps for more ways of enhancing the location.
Forbidden Isle of the Nightstalkers describes the isle itself. This has an overview of the notable locations, the generic dungeon features, d10 tables of dungeon dressing and things to find and a map. The various locations are then covered in more detail, with brief descriptions then lists of salient features. Each entry also has dangers, CR and foes, as appropriate, listed at the beginning.
Aftermath looks at how the characters are received depending on what happened, and how the three original adventure hooks are resolved, as well as further adventures, with Red Fern Barrows being mentioned.
Appendix A: In the Mire has stat blocks for the mire.
Appendix B: In the Isle has stat blocks for the isle.
Appendix C: Player Handouts has these.
Forbidden Isle of the Nightstalkers (P1) in Review
The PDF is bookmarked, with everything but sidebars linked. The Contents is to a similar level of depth and is hyperlinked. Navigation is good. The text maintains a two-column format and appeared to be free of errors. There are a number of black and white illustrations, up to full page in size. Presentation is good.
Though the bit on further adventures in Aftermath doesn’t mention it, there are plenty of other possibilities from the adventure hooks scattered throughout the village. With development, it would be possible to use this as the centre of a mini-campaign setting, as there are plenty of hooks. Despite being set in the Duchy of Ashlar, it is also very easy to drop a small village into other settings in appropriate regions, making this usable with most settings. The adventure itself has a variety of potential outcomes, with varying degrees of combat, and there may be potential consequences in killing the priest of a Lawful Good god, even if that wasn’t how he was behaving, thanks to others not knowing what he was up to. Forbidden Isle of the Nightstalkers (P1) can be found by clicking here.
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