Pathfinder Adventure Path: They Watched the Stars (Gatewalkers 2 of 3) (P2) (PATHFINDER ADV PATH GATEWALKERS

by Jason Keeley

It's written in the stars! After learning the truth behind the alien being responsible for their missing memories, the characters join forces with Sakuachi, a young oracle whose destiny is inextricably bound to theirs. To help Sakuachi fulfill her quest to find a living god and seal away an ancient evil, the party travels across frigid northlands toward the demon-ravaged wastes of Sarkoris. As they voyage across the harrowing waters of the Lake of Mists and Veils and push through monster-filled ruins, the party must rely on their own wits, their new friends, and the stars above to guide them to safety.

“They Watched the Stars” is a Pathfinder adventure for four 4th-level characters. This adventure continues the Gatewalkers Adventure Path, a three-part monthly campaign in which a team of paranormal investigators unravel the mystery behind a mass amnesic episode which left them with lost memories and strange powers. This adventure also includes a gazetteer of the shrouded waters and eerie shores of the Lake of Mists and Veils; new rules options perfect for paranormalist adventurers; and strange new creatures to befriend or bedevil your players.

Each monthly full-color softcover Pathfinder Adventure Path volume contains an in-depth adventure scenario, stats for several new monsters, and support articles meant to give Game Masters additional material to expand their campaign. Pathfinder Adventure Path volumes use the Open Game License and work with both the Pathfinder RPG and the world’s oldest fantasy RPG.

96 pages, Paperback

Published March 7, 2023

Reviews

[Alexander · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick thoughts: So far this AP has a lot of cool stops along the “path,” but that doesn’t help with one core issue: there are very little opportunities for individual PC engagement - space to breath in the game. With the right group, one that wants a more linear amusement park style experience, I think this one may delight. But for the average group, there just isn’t enough room for personalized experiences that don’t harm the verisimilitude of the world and narrative.

If one were to personalize this AP (which every GM should), you would need some major overhauls. In an adventure thats more centralized, this may not be an issue, but since there is a lot of traveling in this AP, it sticks out like a sore thumb.

Cool ideas, for sure, but may require a ton of work to make fully fleshed out for a group. It almost feels like the initial outline may have been for 6 books instead of 3.

Quick addendum: “The Lake” article is phenomenal. I was immediately thinking of how to make a hexcrawl in this setting and spent hours day dreaming of it. Thats a good sign. I struggle to say its worth the price of entry, but it’s definitely worth one star.

[MuffinMan · Rating 2 out of 5]

At every opportunity, this book took the less-interesting choice. There are far too many coincidences that could have been made into intentional choices on the part of the PCs and an overabundance of tiny quests from poorly fleshed out NPCs the PCs aren't given much reason to help. Also, maps are missing for some encounters that could really use them, some of the maps that are provided are uninspired/unnecessary, the encounters in the final section are repetitive, and some rules elements introduced in other books are missing references.

This isn't 1 stars, though, because Ruins of Azlsnt exists. At least it's coherent and doesn't promote eugenics. Ruins of Azlant really lowered the bar.

If you want an adventure path with portals and travel, Strength of Thousands or Age of Ashes is much better. If you want one with weird dream/memory shenanigans, Strange Aeons is also good (although it is for 1E if that matters to you). There aren't a lot of Erutaki adventures, unfortunately, but Quest for the Frozen Flame is also level 1-10 and the Mammoth Lords are an adjacent culture/region.