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Pathfinder Legends

Pathfinder Legends

Rise of the Runelords: Spires of Xin-Shalast

2015

Ratings2

Average rating3.5

15
JKRevell
Jamie RevellSupporter

Here we are at the end of the series, and, unsurprisingly, there isn't much to say about this that I haven't said about the earlier instalments. Scott has previously been the stronger of the two writers, but this is his weakest offering, in which he apparently struggles to bring to life a segment of the original campaign that doesn't seem to have had much depth to it.

Having said which, the opening part of the story, with the adventurers stumbling across a haunted waystation in the mountains is rather effective. The ghosts have a backstory, and there's a good focus on the dwarven ranger as our heroes deal with a problem that can't be dealt with simply by hitting it with swords. It doesn't feel especially “high level” (as it presumably was by this stage in the original) but that's a good thing, making the characters feel more vulnerable and endangered.

From then on, however, the bulk of the story is just a long string of fights leading towards the predictable final encounter. The villain just rants, being less developed than the underlings we've seen up to this point and there isn't any real development of the overarching plot, just a slog to finally get to where he's hiding. There's a sense of something grander behind it all, but there isn't time to explore any of it, and we're mainly left with the combat. Without the first segment, I'd have given this two stars, but, fortunately, that pulls up the average.

August 20, 2021Report this review