Publisher: Paizo Inc
Authors: Vanessa Hoskins with James Jacobs, Nicolas Logue, and Robert G. McCreary
Artists: Christoph Peters, Tiziano Baracchi, Oleksii Cherik, Daniel Decena, Benton Dinsmore, Kendal Gates, YuCheng Hong, Robert Lazzaretti, Yuri Luz, Ilina Naydenova, Sandra Posada, Riley Spalding, and Jesse Suursoo
Year: 2024
Genre: Standalone Pathfinder adventure which kicks off the War of Immortals event
Pages: 124 pages
MSRP: Hardcover $44.99 or $19.99 in PDF
Typically, Pathfinder adventures are designed for Good to Neutral characters with a heroic bent. When they deviate from that ethos, such as with the Blood Lords Adventure Path, the evil they encourage tends to be more of a fun, scenery-chewing sort than true evil.
That changes in a big way with Prey For Death, as players take on the role of Achaekek-worshipping assassins or their affiliates. Players aren’t railroaded into doing anything especially vile in the text of the campaign; their one assassination target would be a particularly heinous villain in any of the more traditional adventures. Care has been taken to minimize intra-party conflict. Vanessa Hoskins does her best to keep the wheels on things by reminding everyone that neither Achaekek nor the text of the adventure condone bigotry, prejudice, exclusion, or “wanton sadism,” but the fact remains that Prey For Death stands to get very dark very quickly, especially for parties already prone to “murder hobo” behavior. Cruelty, torture, and worse are all on the table as tools at the party’s disposal – and perfectly in-character for assassins sworn to an evil deity who favors the use of fear as a means to an end.
To be clear: this is not a “grimdark” adventure as written, but players absolutely have the potential to push it in that direction. While Pathfinder has dealt in darker topics before, this is perhaps the first outing to really necessitate safety tools and blunt boundary setting in a session zero. Vanessa Hoskins and her team deserve credit, as well, for understanding where the text might veer off into uncomfortable territory for players and offering outs that do not impact the quality of the narrative.
At the heart of the adventure is a grand conspiracy: Saviya, a cleric of the Red Mantis’s leading council has grown tired of the group’s leader, the supernaturally youthful and long-lived Blood Mistress Jakalyn and rallied others to her cause. However, as worshippers are Achaekek are forbidden from openly slaying a rightful ruler, Saviya must rely on other means to accomplish her goals. While there is a clearly intended path for players to take, the text leaves all possibilities open, ensuring that each table’s experience will be unique. While Prey for Death obviously has a heavy focus on combat, there is still ample opportunity for roleplay –as the second chapter requires no small amount of subterfuge– and for players to shape the narrative towards their own goals.
Prey For Death’s climax is thrilling, terrifying, and will be totally unexpected for players. It’s a choice that allows them to experience first-hand a truly world-shattering event and feel the consequences thereof without having to feel guilt for causing them. This still allows for a more personal connection to the events of the narrative; by contrast, while players were caught in the aftermath of the Drift Crash, the event itself was entirely off-screen.
Admittedly, Prey For Death may not be a fit for every table, but regardless, it is a masterful piece of game design that plunges Pathfinder in a new, potentially darker direction. Players who have always wanted to be “the bad guys” are given a full chance here and the narrative is better for it. Given the implications of the finale, even those on the fence about playing would do well to pick this one up.
SUMMARY
Summary
