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Claw Your Way Through: Pathfinder Adventure Path #182 – Graveclaw Reviewed

Oct 1, 2022

Game Title: Pathfinder – Graveclaw (Blood Lords 2 of 6)

Author: Jason Tondro

Artists: Natasha Nanook, Tuan Duong Chu, Rael Dionisio, Wilmar Ballespí Escarp, Xabi Gazte, Dariusz Kieliszek, Robert Lazzaretti, Lucas Villalva Machado, and Luis Salas Lastra

Year: 2022

Genre: Pathfinder roleplaying game adventure

Pages: 92 pages

MSRP: $26.99 in softcover or $18.99 in PDF

Players return to Geb in Graveclaw, the second chapter in the Blood Lords Adventure Path. This chapter sees players hunting down the members of the Graveclaw, a coven of hags working with Chancellor Kemnebi to create the toxin necessary for his plan.

Whereas Zombie Feast felt like a gloriously camp kind of villainy —not wholly inappropriate considering Geb himself— Graveclaw isn’t as keen to sweep everything under the rug. Players encounter Nebumi, a lonely and violent attic whisperer who was once a little boy who met a tragic end. While they’ll have to deal with his attacks and ultimately be forced to destroy him to continue on, they also discover how, in life, he was severely neglected and ultimately left to die alone in the attic. While the details of this abuse aren’t graphic, it’s a dark moment that highlights how awful the world in which the characters exist truly is.

However, it’s also a moment to highlight one of Graveclaw’s best narrative tricks: allowing players to do “good” without compromising their characters’ alignment. In killing Taviah, they secure what meager justice they can for Nebumi and free the domovoi bound to her cottage; while the characters’ motivations can remain firmly rooted in their own potentially nefarious self-interest, these moments still allow the players themselves to feel heroic. Taviah’s death doesn’t soften the horror of Nebumi’s fate, but it feels far less exploitive than, for example, taking on a sidequest to aid the hag in her plans.

Graveclaw also benefits from the Adventure Path’s overall reputation system. In an adventure focused on defeating four hags by any means necessary, some groups are liable to resort to murder hobo behavior. Likewise, some players interpret “evil’ as synonymous with surly and rude. Graveclaw consistently rewards players for engaging in a more interesting, thoughtful way, even as it allows them to go all in at combat. Evil can be warm, friendly, polite, and even helpful — it’s not always bereft of charm or manners and can, in fact, be fun. The inclusion of the tax collector as an explicitly lawful evil character, however, is a nice light chuckle.

The adventure’s structure, which requires players to travel around Geb, offers some great opportunities for worldbuilding and exploration. Many of the featured NPCs would be excellent candidates as quest givers in future GM-created campaigns or for sidequests should players come in low on level.

Particular kudos are reserved for the art in this edition. In light of recent controversies about what fantasy races can or can’t look like, it’s delightful to see a vampire explicitly described as “pale” who is, in fact, a vampire of color. Paizo’s commitment to ensuring everyone feels welcome at the table remains as strong as ever and the tabletop gaming world is better for it.

Despite its darker inclusions, Graveclaw allows players to make serious strides against Kemnebi and lays a solid foundation for further wheeling and dealing to gain faction support. While GMs may want to exercise caution when handling matters related to Nebumi, overall, Graveclaw will leave players “clawing” for the next installment.

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Sami Yuhas

Writer, gamer, and necromancer bard (at least in D&D). Sami focuses primarily on board and tabletop gaming, with a focus on sci-fi and fantasy, as well as worker-placements and co-op titles. She prides herself on the ability to overthink world building in games, and cites a three post manifesto on the costuming of XCOM 2 as among her greatest nerd achievements.