Over on D20Saves, I’m running Gatewalkers, one of the latest APs from Paizo! From the official website:

After they walked through that glowing gateway, nothing was ever the same. A band of characters become paranormal investigators in order to figure out the cause of a global amnesic episode. Their quest takes them to lands near, far, and outside of this reality altogether. Along the way, the characters meet fellow “gatewalkers,” defeat alien monsters, and explore strange realms also touched by the so-called Missing Moment. And when it comes time to learn the grim truth of what happened to them on that fated summer night, what then?

Warning: The first part of this blog will cover what happened in the stream, so there's spoilers for Book one. Part two will include my thoughts as a GM, so there's major spoilers for everything. 

If you’d want to watch the previous episodes, check out the playlist here!

Chapter one recap: We meet our heroes (?)

Several months after the missing moment turned their lives upside down, each member of the future party received an invite from a famous researcher in Lepidstadt, a sizable town in the ever-cozy country of Ustalav.

Each of the recipients had been trying to piece their lives together after being removed from the material plane for three months, and this seemed to be as good a direction as any. There are worse things than being research assistants in a field that isn’t yet flooded, right? And they might find what happened to them on the way!

The first mission was to investigate the druid town of Seven Arches in the River Kingdoms. The town had been under a curse, killing all elves who came there… until the Missing Moment happened. Just as the gates lit up all over Golarion, the curse was dispelled. Obviously, the two events are connected, but how?

The crew quickly got embroiled in the politics of the city, agreeing to investigate a rogue druid who had absconded with a relic called the Shadewither Key. Leaving a trail of naked, bound rebel druids behind them (they have an MO, apparently), they eventually captured the head rebel, Bolan. He taunted them, telling them someone named Kaneepo the Slim now had the key, and would use it to “restore the balance” between nature and civilization. Chapter One ended with the party making their way back to town, hoping their work in the town was done.

It was not.

GM thoughts

I said it last time and I’ll say it again: Good lord, this book is a lot. It’s been a while since I had players at level one this long, even in an AP. Looking at my raw recordings, we’re at about 10 hours of play, and this is with the group being fairly focused.

I’m also done prepping book one, and let me tell you, it doesn’t calm down. Each chapter is packed with custom creatures, maps, encounters… So much happens.

The good stuff in Chapter 1

The players had quite a bit of fun in Seven Arches. They enjoyed the NPCs, and honestly, I’m a bit sad that some of them have to be left behind, since the AP is clear that the PCs don’t return to the town.

The plot was also laid-out well enough so that you didn’t get the cursed “Why are we doing this again?” banter. They had a mission (Investigate the curse) and steps to take (Talk to people, check out the rogue druid, find the key) the entire time.

They also loved finding out Bolan (the rebel druid) is another deviant. It gave the boss fight some real X-Men vibes. Make sure to use that deviant power of his! To be honest, it was one of the scariest things he could do.

The less good stuff

This list will be longer, but they’re mostly nitpicks, and extremely manageable.

En medias res. The AP starts with everyone already on their way to Seven Arches, which felt too sudden. I inserted a whole session before this, allowing them to get the letters, make their way to town, meet each other, and finally, meet the good professor. It helped the team gel, which is important since things move quickly once you’re in town.

The big bad. It’s very easy for the players to figure out who the Big Bad is. If you have players who jackrabbit the second they get a sniff of “potential double cross”, play the professor with a light hand. If you REALLY think that the players will run, insert a different NPC and make the professor his boss. Basically, know your players.

The treehouse. This is an awesome dungeon! However, it’s big, and it made my VTT crawl without some major tweaking. I recommend splitting it between two maps, even if one map feels more convenient.

Also, there’s a bit where a druid pulls up a ladder in order to block the way forward for the PCs, forcing them to go through most of the treehouse, looking for a way up. If you want players to explore, YEET THAT LADDER INTO THE SUN. If it’s anywhere close to the edge, they might have an ability that allows them to get the ladder and skip half of the encounters. (On the flip side, if you want to compress the treehouse, leave the ladder dangling).

Night visitations. The PCs were supposed to get dreams that awakened their deviant powers… except the PCs don’t have much need to sleep on the road. This left one PC odd-man-out, and this was with me doubling up one night. I recommend either doing them all at once, or having them start the game with deviant powers awakened, making the dreams spooky, but not attached to any mechanics.

Next chapters!

Having prepped the next two chapters, I’m super excited for the team to start bouncing around the cosmos. Chapter two sends them to the First World, but with a twist. Rather than the neon fever dream of Kingmaker, you’re sent to a place that’s grey and strange. This is probably a good choice, because the next stop is Castrovel, which has a jungle that’s as colorful as it is dangerous.

My only concern right now is a fairly big one: Will the players go through the portal that leads them to the rest of the plot. I’m trying to hammer home that they have to go get that stupid key, so let’s hope they follow the plot thread without me having to kidnap them.