Ever since Paizo announced the wild ride that would prove to be Gatewalkers, I’ve been dying to run it. A group of people pulled together by weird shit and bounced around the universe to completely new locales? Sign me up! Happily, the crew I stream with on D20Saves was also eager to play it, so I had a ready-made crew!
One downside of running a brand-new AP is that you don’t have many lessons learned from the community to help you out. Therefore, I decided to document my thoughts about the AP, which might help GMs considering it but haven’t started it yet. So, the first part of this post will be about the stream, and the second half will be more GM and prep focused. Spoilers will run rampant in the second half.
Stream
The stream will be every other Wednesday (7:30pm EST) on D20Saves and features most of the crew from our sister stream, Fists of the Ruby Phoenix.
The cast (in alphabetical order, by class):
- Dr. Bjorrlbr Wat’Zin, Grippli Cleric of Arazni (@DicePorn)
- Or’Lock Holmes, Orc Investigator (@Battousai_CR)
- Monk E. Tracy, Varana Psychic (@RicardoRivJ)
- Moriarty, Tengu Rogue (@DatonKallandor)
- Jimmee Quill, Fleshwarp Thaumaturge (@DonvonDohlen)
I can say from a wealth of personal experience that this is a great group to run with: Knowledgeable as hell, but not afraid of just relaxing and having fun with how the story plays out.
You can watch the first episode of Gatewalkers here. I’d embed the video, but apparently, we classify as adult content. Maybe one too many f-bombs? At any rate, in Episode one, the PCs receive a letter from an academic asking them to join him in researching mysterious gates that opened across Golarion some six months ago. This disparate crew is especially motivated since they all went through said gates but returned three months later with no memory of what happened while they were gone…
The GM stuff (SPOILERS BEWARE, PLAYERS GO AWAY)
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Okay, you’ve had plenty of time to leave. Here there be spoilers.
While prepping this book, I realized this was a packed AP. I’m no stranger to running Adventure Paths, but the content in the first chapter is usually light: The players get to know each other, the GM gets a handle on the world, and you have a few mild encounters to set the mood. In GW? You do a whole investigation, AND you go through a dungeon.
It doesn’t seem to drag, though. There’s always something pushing the players forward, so hopefully, they won’t feel like their level is too delayed. Even so, I got a new shirt to add to my collection.
Another thing that the AP feels like it’s missing is the players meeting each other. To be fair, most APs start with the PCs having minimal reasons to know one another, but in this case, you start on the road, heading toward your first assignment with someone who just hired you. I started the game slightly earlier, giving each player a letter from Dr. Ritalson. The handout:
"My name is Dr. Etward Ritalson, formally of Lepidstadt University. We have more than a few things in common, starting with a particular jaunt through a mysterious portal. While some are content to forget the whole matter, I cannot let such an intriguing (and personal) mystery rest! As such, I have taken a sabbatical from my duties at the University and have dedicated myself full-time to unraveling the missing moment.
"I am reaching out to those who had a similar experience in hopes of putting together a research team. There's too much for one man to do alone, and more minds always make for a better thesis. I have enclosed funds for travel. Any Lodge should be able to teleport you to the Vodavani Lodge or perhaps even the University. The hazard fee is included in the sum reserved for you, so please don't let them upsell you!
"My office is just outside of the University grounds. Anyone should be able to lead you to the office for the Illuminated Consortium of Epopts. I look forward to the work we shall do together!
"Sincerely, ER"This gave the players a chance to talk about their background, roleplay getting to a lodge (mostly handwaved, but it was amusing to see the differences between all of them), and then give them a chance to meet each other before the Good Doctor (who was out for a few days). Looking ahead to book three, it appears that Dr. Ritalson has a manor in town, complete with staff, so it might be a chance to let the crew get to know some of those NPCs.
The biggest challenge I think the AP will have? Having the players not twig to what’s really going on too early. Already, one jokingly said “X is the behind it all.” I now have book three in hand and… he isn’t wrong.
Anyway, those are my thoughts so far on Gatewalkers. I highly recommend it as an AP, though maybe not if you’re new to Pathfinder, due to deviant abilities and all the jumping around in the world.
Katie Plays Games 