Starring: Stewart Alexander, Trevor Littledale, Ian Brooker and Kerry Skinner, with Ashleigh Loeb, Fanos Xenofos, Harry Myers, Helen Goldwyn and Wraith Johnson

Written by David Bryher (from a story by Greg A. Vaughn), Directed by John Ainsworth

In which the champions head to Castle Scarwall, an ancient ruined keep deep within orc territory, to recover an artefact that may be the key to defeating Queen Ileosa. But Scarwall is infested with powerful undead creatures, and they champions find themselves in the unlikeliest of alliances in order to triumph against the hordes…

If nothing else, Skeletons of Scarwall continually defies listeners’ expectations. Since the fortress is located in the Hold of Belkzen (an area of Golarion long occupied by orc tribes), I expected orcs to feature heavily in the beginning of this drama, and with one small exception, they really don’t. And once orcs do show up, not one of them talks like somebody doing a bad Vinnie Jones impression!

From a strictly role-playing-game perspective, Skeletons of Scarwall has a couple of oddities. Skeletons – normally only a threat to low-level adventurers – nearly tear one character to pieces, yet two other undead creatures, normally far more powerful and deadly, are vanquished with surprising ease. Not only does this go against established Pathfinder lore, it also undercuts the drama in these encounters.

Most of this story’s conflict comes from the presence of two clerics who worship Zon-Kuthon (Midnight Lord of Pain and Suffering, who has been casting a longer and longer shadow in this Adventure Path). One is unfortunately familiar to the champions: Laori Vaus (Loeb), the altogether ooky elf who helped them in Old Korvosa; the other is her somber superior, Shadowcount Sial (Xenofos), a reserved human who finds Laori almost as distasteful as the protagonists do. Thanks to their own independent research, the clerics have determined that Queen Ileosa is using a relic sacred to Zon-Kuthon’s Brotherhood to cement her hold over Korvosa, and the two groups must put aside their personal and ethical differences in order to serve the greater good. It’s a moral dilemma that scenarios like these rarely touch upon, and Skeletons of Scarwall is that much stronger as a result.

All the same, Curse of the Crimson Throne definitely feels like it’s treading water by now, and the final act of Skeletons of Scarwall epitomises this as Harsk and Valeros must brave an eldritch horror in order to retrieve the magical artefact that will supposedly defeat Queen Ileosa and the dark magics protecting her. I say, off with her head, already!

Verdict: Another well-realised soundscape really sells the inhospitable terrain surrounding Castle Scarwall, but it doesn’t completely cover up the holes in the plot or the plot’s threadbare nature. It’s time to wrap this Adventure Path up! 6/10

John S. Hall