Review: Mists of Mwangi #5

This review of Mists of Mwangi scenario #5 from Paizo contains heavy spoilers and is only intended to help game masters who intent to run this Pathfinder Scenario. The Mists of Mwangi is a fun adventure with good combat scenes and story elements. The 3.5 stats need a little adjustment for Pathfinder, it is especially worth noting that undead used the d12 hit die under 3.5, which has now be changed to d8. Obviously none of my suggested scenario changes below are legal for Pathfinder Society, they are simply meant to make the experience better for your players in your home game.

Guiding the PCs

The pathfinders have the map of the museum, and the characters could potentially go straight to the final encounter, but it plays better if they follow the laid out path, so you should be sure to give the clues that guide the characters from act to act in their search for Nigel.

Information

The Scenario contains lots of information on Absalom history and nobility if you manage to get it out. Some of the information is already assigned knowledge check DCs, but much of it is not. It is easy however, to assign a few knowledge arcana and nobility or local DCs to the rest of the information, and offer it up to a knowledgeable character. Some of this information ads significantly to the experience of the scenario, and you should consider giving it freely. See the mist below.

The Mist

Knowing about the mist’s mind-altering properties and how to protect against it is a relatively high DC, and it is likely that the pathfinders’ first encounter in the Blakros museum is fighting their own. An encounter like that can be long and frustrating to players. I would suggest freely offering up the information about the maddening mist, so that the characters can protect themselves and feel the spookiness of the mist rather than annoyance followed by indifference.

To not completely negate any effect of the mist, I would suggest adding a secondary effect, so that those who have their airways covered feel the chill shrouding of the mist around their body and save or become shaken. The shaken condition would last 10 minutes after which another save can be attempted, and once a save has been made, the character is immune to further chilling effects. Of course anyone who removes, or has removed, their masks later in the scenario (perhaps by a Vargouille attempting a kiss) would be subject to the maddening of the mist.