Into the Nightmare Rift is the fifth, #65, part of the Shattered Star Adventure Path from Paizo Publishing. This is a supplement for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and, as such, is covered by the Open Game License with some parts considered to be Open Game Content as a result. This follows on from Beyond the Doomsday Door and is an adventure for 13th level characters who are expected to be 15th level by the end. The Adventure Path then concludes in The Dead Heart of Xin.
The PDF is available from the Paizo site for $13.99 but was purchased at a greatly reduced price as part of a special bundle. It is also available as a printed book from sites such as Amazon. The PDF is the version reviewed and has 100 pages with two being the front and back covers, two being the front matter, one the Table of Contents, half a page being the Open Game License and four being ads. A second, five-page PDF has interactive maps of the locations for use by players.
Inside what would be the front and rear covers of the printed book are two short adventure hooks and two monuments that grant boons.
Okay, Okay… Let’s Go to Leng is the foreword and explains that H.P. Lovecraft‘s influence is not unknown in the adventure paths and Leng first made its appearance in Rise of the Runelords. It also considers the difficulty in dungeons at high levels where characters have many abilities that allow them to get past problems and retreat from dangers, returning rested. In this adventure, characters who explore the dungeon carefully will wind up with more treasure, and more knowledge about what to expect.
Into the Nightmare Rift is the adventure itself and starts with the standard single page listing the parts and advancement track. Adventure Background explains that Guiltspur worked as a bridge between the Material Plane and Leng, but was engulfed by a lava flow during Earthfall. More recently, a powerful blue dragon found one of the shards and headed to Guiltspur with giant minions. A summary of the adventure follows.
Part One: Giants of Wrath has the characters head to Guiltspur and deal with the giants outside the complex and in the upper parts of it.
Part Two: Guiltspur Depths has them head deeper into the ruins, where amongst other things is an embassy from Leng.
Part Three: Temple of the Crawling Chaos has a portal to Leng where an ancient temple to Nyarlathotep can be found.
Appendix has the NPC Gallery, with two major NPCs detailed and campaign roles for both, should they survive. Shattered Star Treasures has new magic items.
Leng: The Terror Beyond Dreams has a map of Leng with a gazetteer, planar traits, inhabitants and how to visit the plane.
Lissala gives details on this ancient and nearly forgotten arcane magic deity, her temples and shrines, the role of priests and a new spell. Some of the material that would normally be present for a deity’s overview is missing; Lissala has been out of contact for so long and largely unworshipped that much is missing.
Pathfinder’s Journal: Light of a Distant Star 5 of 6 is the fifth part of a piece of fiction set in Riddleport.
Bestiary starts with an encounter table for Guiltspur Environs and three special encounters. This is followed by four new monsters; one associated with Lissala, the other three Lovecraftian monsters.
Next Month has an overview of what’s in the next issue.
Into the Nightmare Rift in Review
The PDF is well bookmarked with major and minor sections linked. The Table of Contents only covers the major sections. Navigation is decent. The text maintains a two-column colour format and appeared to be free of errors. There are many custom colour illustrations, up to half a page in size and including one for every monster and magic item, as well as the maps. Presentation is very good.
This is another pretty linear adventure, which isn’t unexpected as, once again, the majority of it is a dungeon crawl with a specific end point and no multiple routes for getting there. Prior to the arrival at the dungeon, the characters are heading to another specific destination, the entrance, though more side encounters could be added, including in the dungeon itself. Leng may not be covered in a great deal of detail, but the information is useful and useful for settings outside of Golarion, too, given it’s another plane. Also, if a GM wants to expand the adventure in any way, this could be done by expanding the incursion into Leng.
Lissala as a Golarion deity is less useful for other settings, though she could perhaps be adjusted; as Lissala is forgotten to a degree and lacks much in the way of current worshippers, adapting her to another setting will be easier than with some Golarion gods. Once again, the monsters are generally useful and the fiction is specific to Golarion, though not the adventure. This is another primarily dungeon crawl adventure, which might result in a recurring antagonist if the dragon gets away. There’s also interesting potential with the other NPC in the NPC Gallery. Into the Nightmare Rift continues the adventure path in decent manner.
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